Reviewed and updated for accuracy by Dr. Liz Bales, VMD on December 2, 2019.
Providing quality nutrition for your cat is one of the most important things you can do as a pet owner, but how do you choose the best, healthiest cat food?
The cat food market is filled with canned and bagged foods making all sorts of health claims, some of which are backed up by scientific studies and some of which are not.
While there’s no “one size fits all” answer for what you should feed your cat, knowing the basics of a cat’s dietary needs can help you make decisions. The best way to start is to look at mealtimes through your cat’s eyes.
What do cats eat?
Cats are obligate carnivores, meaning their diet consists mainly of animal protein.
In the wild, cats eat small rodents that are estimated to be 55% protein, 45% fat, and very little carbohydrate. A typical small rodent has about 35 calories.
An average 10 pound house cat needs about 250 calories per day, which means about 7 to 8 mice per day.
When cats hunt prey, they usually eat most or all of it. It’s common for cats to eat the nutrient-rich organs, such as the liver, first, followed by the muscle, bones, and skin.
Why mealtimes aren’t just about eating for cats
Cats are hunting animals. They naturally hunt for frequent small meals, day and night. Feeding your cat from a bowl can make them bored, fat, and possibly sick.
For cats, mealtimes are not just a time to take in calories. They are also an important time for them to exercise their predatory instincts and “capture” their food.
of American Association of Feline Medical Practitioners We encourage you to replicate your cat’s hunting habits in an indoor environment, which is far better for their behavior and physical health than feeding them from a bowl.
Fill hunting feeders with small amounts of dry food and treats and hide them around the house, or fill puzzle feeders with wet food to recreate the hunt.
Healthy cat food is all about balance
To maintain your cat’s lifelong nutritional health, they need to get enough protein and fat, and minimize carbohydrates.
Cats need amino acids, fatty acids, vitamins and minerals. Make sure you provide them with enough of these nutrients without overdoing it. Too much of certain vitamins and minerals can be toxic.
Here’s a breakdown of the nutrients found in a balanced, healthy cat food:
Why cats need animal protein
Proteins are made up of building blocks called amino acids. There are two types of amino acids: essential and non-essential.
Non-essential amino acids are ones that your cat’s body can produce, while essential amino acids cannot be produced by your cat’s body and must be obtained through their diet.
Taurine, an essential amino acid found in protein, is particularly important for cats, so cats need to get enough of it in their diet.
If your cat’s diet is consistently deficient in taurine, they can develop retinal disease and a heart condition called dilated cardiomyopathy in as little as five months of age.
How much protein does a cat need?
The minimum amount of protein a cat needs varies at each life stage: growing kittens are recommended to eat a minimum of 240g/kilogram of protein per day, while adult cats need a minimum of 140g/kilogram of protein per day.
The meat protein listed in the ingredients on the back of the bag is not as simple as it may seem, and it’s important to remember that marketing should not play a major role in your cat food choices.
Kittens and cats can get the animal protein they need from a variety of sources, including meat and meat by-products, and while you might think that by-products are bad, that’s not necessarily the case.
Meat is important, but not in the way we think
Some of the bags have beautiful deboned chicken breasts on them, suggesting that the meat your cat will be eating is deboned chicken breasts.
However, this is not necessarily the case. US Feed Control Authorities (AAFCO) takes a different view.
“Meat is the clean flesh obtained from any slaughtered mammal and is limited to any part of the skeletal striated muscle, or to any part of the tongue, diaphragm, heart, or esophagus, with or without the accompanying fat, skin, tendons, nerves, or blood vessels usually accompanying meat; it shall be suitable for animal food; and if it is named, it shall correspond to that name.”
Eating animal tissue other than boneless meat is repulsive to many humans. However, if you look at “meat” from a cat’s perspective, eating whole prey carcasses is natural. These alternative protein sources are a normal part of a cat’s diet.
Meat by-products are the edible non-muscle parts of an animal, including blood and organs such as liver, kidneys, etc. Remember that in nature, cats will typically choose to eat the nutritious organ meats of their prey before eating the muscle tissue of their prey.
So, despite the long-held belief of many pet owners that meat by-products are inferior meats, they remain a good source of protein for cats, so just because a cat food has meat by-products on its ingredients list doesn’t make it unsuitable.
Moisture content is important for your cat’s hydration
Cats need to stay well hydrated to maintain their overall health. One of a cat’s most important body organs affected by hydration is their urinary system, and if they don’t consume enough water, their urine will become more concentrated.
Concentrated urine can make crystals or stones more likely to form, irritating the bladder walls and increasing the likelihood of chronic infection, or more seriously, blocking the flow of urine from the bladder, making your cat unable to urinate. If left untreated, this can become a life-threatening condition.
In the wild, cats get most of their daily water needs from the moisture in the prey they eat, and they supplement this by drinking any fresh water they can find.
Canned food most closely resembles the moisture content found in a cat’s natural prey, and cats who eat canned cat food will not need as much moisture from other sources.
Dry cat food, by definition, has a very low moisture content, and cats who eat dry food will need more moisture from other sources.
However, all cats need to drink plenty of clean, fresh water every day, and some cats prefer running water over still water.
Many cats prefer their water source to be separate from their food, so we recommend providing multiple water bowls and stations throughout the home that you clean and refill daily.
Fat content plays an important role
Fats and fatty acids are important components of a healthy cat’s diet.
Fats are made up of building blocks called essential fatty acids, which, like the essential amino acids in protein, must be consumed through the diet.
Essential fatty acids for cats include the omega-6 fatty acids, linoleic acid and arachidonic acid. Linoleic acid is found in chicken, beef and pork fats, as well as corn, soy and safflower oils. Arachidonic acid is found in animal fats and fish oils.
The amount of fat in a cat’s diet varies depending on the cat’s life stage and medical needs. Research suggests that anywhere from 9% to over 50% of energy in cat food (on a dry matter basis) can safely come from fat.
Carbohydrate needs vary by cat
Carbohydrates are a big point of contention for cat lovers. Obligate carnivore diets are very low in carbohydrates, with only 1-2% of the prey’s calories coming from carbohydrates on a dry matter basis. Of wet vs dry food, wet food comes closest to this.
Adult cats do not require carbohydrates to live a healthy life, but while they do not require carbohydrates, they are able to use the carbohydrates they get from their food for energy in a healthy and efficient manner.
Generally, the average healthy cat will tolerate dry food well, with at least 40% carbohydrate in the diet.
There is concern that the carbohydrates in dry cat food may cause diabetes in cats. Substantial research has been done and is still being done to assess the risk. However, current published research does not show a direct correlation between increased carbohydrate intake and diabetes in cats.
Risk factors for diabetes include obesity and an indoor lifestyle.
How do you choose the healthiest cat food for your cat?
The healthiest food for your cat will depend on their lifestyle and health.
Your vet is the best resource to discuss your cat’s nutritional needs, and you can bring along your list of potential cat foods to your next appointment to discuss which would be best.
To help you make a list of options to discuss, here are some best practice tips for finding a healthy cat food.
Choose the right food for your cat’s life stage
As your cat grows from a kitten to an adult and finally a senior cat, their nutritional needs are constantly changing.
Calories, protein, fat and other nutrients should be tailored to the needs of your cat’s life stage, so always choose a cat food made for your cat’s specific life stage, or speak to your vet about any all-life stage cat foods you’re considering.
Look for brands that conduct lifelong research and test their foods
Studies following groups of cats fed specific foods throughout their lives would be most valuable.
Diet-related illnesses can take years to develop, and these lifelong studies allow cat owners to be the most informed about how a particular diet can affect their cat in the long term.
Without testing, it’s impossible to detect deficiencies or excesses of key ingredients or dangerous contaminants.
Choose a cat food brand that regularly tests its products for safety and nutritional balance. For help finding this information and other important questions, visit: World Small Animal Veterinary Association Website.
Consult your veterinarian
Choosing the best and safest diet for your cat is more complicated than it seems. There are thousands of different cat foods on the market, and just as many opinions about which is “best.”
When choosing a cat food, you should not rely on a picture on the bag or a list of ingredients as these sources do not provide sufficient information about the source and quality of the ingredients, or how each individual ingredient contributes to the nutritional balance of your cat’s overall diet, taking into account your cat’s life stage and medical needs.
The best diet for your cat may be different from the diet needed by another cat, even if they are the same age. The best way to find the healthiest diet is to discuss your options with your veterinarian. Veterinarians are trained in animal nutrition and know your cat’s health best.
Veterinarians have no interest in recommending a healthy diet – their professional and moral obligation is to recommend the healthiest diet for your cat, based on the available science.
Additionally, we have a certified veterinary nutritionist available for more in-depth, expert information. Veterinarian directory Visit the American College of Veterinary Nutrition website.
Author: Dr. Elizabeth Bales, VETERINARY SCIENTIST
Featured Image: iStock.com/michellegibson
